Cemetery, funeral homes sued by relatives of dead

Posted: Mon 9:01 PM, Feb 10, 2014

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Relatives of dead people buried at a Memphis-area cemetery are suing its owner and funeral homes that sent bodies there.

A class-action complaint filed Sunday in Shelby County Chancery Court alleges Galilee Memorial Gardens operated without a valid license, misplaced or lost track of buried remains and stacked multiple caskets in single burial plots, sometimes by crushing caskets to make them fit.

The suit was filed by lawyers for two people buried at the Bartlett cemetery. Also named were two funeral homes that sent bodies to Galilee for burial.

Cemetery owner Jemar Lambert was arrested Jan. 24 on charges that three bodies were buried in the same grave without permission.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance filed a request for a temporary restraining order, shutting down the cemetery.

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